LOUISIANA BROMELIAD SOCIETY'S SPRING SHOW

Eric Knobloch

This show had an
unconventional setting, being held in the lobby of The Progressive Bank and
Trust Co. in the heart of New Orleans. The display lasted from Monday through Friday, February 24-28, 1958 and was open to the public during banking hours only.

Mrs. Paul D. Schaefer was
general chairman and Mrs. R. L. Emery, Jr. was in charge of arranging the
plants in the display. We had to have volunteers on hand at all times to answer
the many questions of the throngs who saw it. It received publicity de luxe including
an article by the writer, President of the Louisiana Society, on what
bromeliads were and how pleasant a hobby it was to devote oneself to taking
care of a collection of them.

This unique show created a
terrific interest in bromeliads in New
Orleans.

Cover:

A feature of the New Orleans
Show is shown on our cover. The treatment of the column  a smooth marble
one-was rather interesting. It was banded with chicken wire laid over four
erect two-by-fours. This under-structure of wire was covered with Spanish Moss.
Some bare branches of trees were anchored in the top of the structure. Plants
were attached to these branches and meshed in the moss and fastened to the
wire. In this group were blooming Tillandsias and Guzmanias. A "wad"
of Tillandsia ionantha bristling with violet flowers, stole the show; it
was in full bloom and was a glistening red. Also blooming in this part of the
display were Guzmania zahnii; Vriesia scalaris, and V. incurvata.

This section of the show was
filled with plants furnished by Morris Henry Hobbs who also designed the
beautiful placard. By the window was an assortment of Dyckias, pineapples and
Hechtias in a terrestrial group arrangement. A breath from the desert was suggested
by the cow's skull which held a Tillandsia simulata. Among other plants
on the table were Aechmea angustifolia, Ae. × "Foster's Favorite", Vriesia
× erecta, as well as some Tillandsias and Billbergias. The great Ae.
bromeliifolia is imposing over the quizzical pumice stone face whose head
holds a perky Dyckia leptostachya. Tillandsia fasiculata and tenuifolia
make head and tail of a fantasy bird about to take off. Driftwood and leafy
plants make congruous jungle background forms for the bromeliads.

On each end of this planter
box were displayed two fine specimens, recently imported from Mexico of Tillandsia
streptophylla, contributed by Mrs. Henry Alcus. The two blooming plants are
unusually fine specimens from the Knobloch's collection of Ae. × calyculata × miniata
var. discolor. The Vriesia fenestralis, also from the Knobloch's
collection, was not only the center of this display, it was the center focus of
every eye that passed by and elicited a continuous round of raves. This planter
was in front of the desk of Miss Bertha Artigues, Secretary to the chairman of
the board of the bank, Mr. William J. Fischer; the dark brown planter partially
hidden by beautifully finished natural oak planks, was raised only a few inches
off the floor.

Photo Eric Knobloch

Morris Henry Hobbs,
surrounded by bromeliads, on the balcony of his New Orleans Studio.

Gardens of the Members  No. 6HOBBS' HOBBY

Mulford B. Foster

When Morris Henry Hobbs takes
on a hobby he rides it with the sincerest affection and a master's perfection.
He works equally well with pencil, pen, brush or etchers needle. His
understanding of form and color has allowed him to become a most devoted
admirer of bromeliads, for here in this family he has discovered the epitome of
line and color in the many living forms that are to be found throughout the
family.

A visit to the Hobbs' home or
to his studio in the French Quarter of New Orleans or to their country retreat
at Mandeville on Lake Ponchartrain, will convince the most skeptical that "Bill's
Bromels" hold first place in Hobbs' Hobbies!

In the country they are
planted in the trees and under them to enjoy the out-of-doors throughout most
of the year. A greenhouse is there in case of emergency where the more tender
species may be housed-in for the winter.

In town they help to decorate
the home of Morris and Judy in the French Quarter. And at the Studio one is not
sure whether Morris Hobbs spends more time with his bromels or his art work,
but you can be sure that neither of them is neglected.

One does not feel that these
plants are carried to these different locations but rather that they follow
this talented artist wherever he goes. They love to hang around while he is at
work . . . and hang around they do! On the shutters, the railings, on stands and
sticks they look down into the narrow street below and down the blocks to the
Business Jungle of New Orleans; they seem perfectly happy in this environment
for, natively, they cling precariously in trees or on rocks overlooking another
kind of jungle in the Americas south.

When plants understand folks
they enjoy staying with them, and the bromeliads can always be counted on to do
their share of understanding.

Morris Hobbs was the first
president of the Louisiana Branch of the The Bromeliad Society; he has contributed
an etching for the Bromeliad Bulletin (July-Aug. 1952) cover and has made a
series of etchings for covers in the forthcoming year's issues. He can now be
credited with the wonderful gift of the kodacolor of T. multicaulis on
the cover of each copy of the Jan.-Feb. 1958 issue. He has written articles for
the Bulletin, "Pumice Stone Planters", (Nov. Dec. 1953),
"Growing Bromeliads from Seeds" (Sept. Oct. 1955), "Hunting
Bromeliads Along the Rio Grande" (March-April 1956), and "Frost
Damage in New Orleans Area" (Jan.-Feb. 1958). He has been an ardent worker
in the very active and earnest bromeliad group in the New Orleans
area.

At a crisis point in his life
bromeliads revived the wonderful spark of interest that makes him now an
intense, ardent hob-nobber in his bromeliad hobby.

Photo E. Knobloch

The side wing of the Hobbs
greenhouse at Mandeville.

Photos by author

The entrance to the historic
home of Mary Plantation; bromeliads in the foreground.

Gardens of the Members  No. 7At the Eric Knoblochs of New Orleans, La.

Mulford B. Foster

Ten years or more ago it was
my great pleasure to speak to the members of the Patio Planters group in New Orleans.
(See "Patio Planters" by Knobloch in Brom. Bull. Sept.-Oct. 1952).
The Knoblochs were instrumental in arranging for that evening gathering of
plant devotees drawn from a number of New Orleans Garden Clubs.

To visit the old patio
gardens in the French Quarter or Vieux Carre, as it is called in New Orleans,
was both a surprise and a treat for it brought back memories of our plant
hunting expeditions in Mexico and South America when we visited old homes in
the historic haciendas and fazendas of Latin countries.

The first patio garden I
visited in New Orleans was that of Marge and Eric Knoblock. Parking my car
with two wheels on the sidewalk and the others in the street (quite necessary
for the pavement is not as wide as two cars), I entered an old door that led me
along a dark hallway to a cloistered courtyard which was surrounded by the
living quarters on two floors. Dwellings such as these have been saved in The Vieux
Carre in New Orleans while most cities in the U. S. have
been destroying similar historical and architectural landmarks for more modern
residences or factories. Architectural changes in the Quarter are not allowed,
the status quo must remain as it has been for the past many generations.

Unusually magnificent and
picturesque live oaks afford the perfect filtered light for bromeliads along
the branches and on the ground.

In this delightful hidden
patio garden bromeliads were growing in every nook and corner; however, it was
very evident that something was going to happen sooner or later, for the
bromeliad "rash" had become acute, space was disappearing.

The Knoblochs like things old
and new, that is "old houses and new bromeliads". So down on the Mississippi River
at Dalcour in the Delta country, twenty-five miles from New Orleans,
they discover and rescue from the jungle, the old, neglected Mary Plantation
house with its last six acres intact. Endless spare "moments" devoted
to tedious work restored the house and grounds to match the two hundred year
old magnificent live oak trees which grew in greater majesty year after year
patiently waiting for just such folks as the Knoblochs. And the waiting was not
in vain, for now Mary Plantation is living again in both its old and new
tradition.

The screech owls, possums,
rabbits, birds and snakes who had been the only inhabitants of the abandoned
place, were allowed to stay along with four cats, two dogs and two peacocks
when came the Knoblochs with their bromeliads (and other decorative plants) to
make this a haven of rest and beauty as it must have been 175 years ago when it
was first built.

Where bromeliads feel so much
at home they cling to the branches and spill out of the pots all over the
ground.

The bromeliads were even more
anxious than the Knoblochs to leave their crowded quarters in the city for it
was like going back home to them. They can "sense" trees and the open
country like a bird released from a cage. They attained new color and brighter
markings in happier surroundings.

It was this new picture that
greeted me two years ago when the Knoblochs again shared their unassuming and
most genuine hospitality with the writer.

Their collection of bromeliads
had grown to considerable dimensions. They decorate the trees, the grounds, the
lovely flagstone terrace. They suspend from the over-hanging gallery which
completely surrounds the house. Inside and out you will find them tastefully
placed to greet you as you enjoy the quaint rugged West Indian architecture
which has been restored in all its original simplicity.

The two rows of giant oaks
with their arching limbs gracefully reach down to the ground in many places and
here you will find hundreds of bromeliads and many different species and
hybrids in the ground and on the trees. Most of them are in pots and baskets
hanging on the limbs. The more tender ones can quickly be moved into the two
greenhouses nearby in case of exceptionally cold winter weather which does
occasionally visit this otherwise mild climate where it is possible to have Acrocomia
totai and Phoenix reclinata palms.

Eric Knobloch followed Morris
Hobbs as president of the Louisiana Branch of the Bromeliad Society.

718 Magnolia Ave., Orlando, Florida

Photo by author

Though chained, bromeliads like it here!

A CHAIN GARDEN

O. C. Van Hyning

While visiting Mr. and Mrs.
Eric Knobloch, last spring, at their home on the Mississippi Delta south of New Orleans,
my wife and I were very much interested in the manner in which many of the
smaller bromeliads were distributed out-of-doors under huge live oak trees.
Plants were hung by regular pot-hangers from nails driven into the lower limbs;
others were attached to these by hooking the hanger of one over the bottom of
the hanger

above it, until regular
chains of pots were formed, reaching nearly to the ground. Since this seemed to
be a very attractive as well as practical way of displaying the plants, we
decided to emulate the Knobloch's idea when we returned to Florida.

Some light weight weldless
chain was procured and a number of lengths suspended from the limbs to the
ground. Short lengths of old garden hose were used to cover the chain where it
came in contact with the limbs. Regular wire pot hangers were then used to
attach the pots, the hangers being hooked into the links of chain at proper
intervals. The plants can be changed very easily when a chain is used, any
plant being removed without disturbing the others. Besides bromeliads, other
epiphytic or hanging plants may be added for variety, such as Rhipsalis,
orchids, Tradescantia and ivy. This is particularly good for such air-loving
plants as Tillandsias which come from situations that are cool and very windy.

Besides being an agreeable
arrangement from the standpoint of the plants' needs, it is also an attractive
manner in which to display them.

P. O. Box 381, Maitland, Florida

Photos by author

An accommodating bromeliad for a thirsty snake.

DRINKING FOUNTAIN

O. C. Van Hyning

Recently in examining some
Mexican Tillandsias which are growing on our oak trees, I noticed a Rat Snake,
or Chicken Snake, Elap-he quadrivittata, drinking water which had
collected in the base of an unidentified Tillandsia. He quite obligingly
remained there while I went for stepladder and camera; and if the picture is
not as good as it might be, it is through no fault of the snake's.

Much of the mountainous
country of Mexico has no water available for many miles, other than
that which collects in the bromeliads; and there are many animals that depend
upon these plants as their sole supply of water. Many of the birds and mammals
merely quench their thirst in passing; but others, such as some of the
salamanders and frogs, spend their entire lives in the bromeliads. Even humans
are not above drinking the water on occasion, and when the frogs and insects
are strained out, it is quite potable.

Maitland, Florida

Photos by author

Housekeeping in a bromeliad!

BIRD NESTS AND BROMELIADS

Wilbur G. Downs, M.D.

In connection with an extensive
study of nesting birds being carried on by the staff of the Trinidad Regional
Virus Laboratory in the Sangre Grande region of Trinidad, many instances have
been seen of birds using the large clumps of the larger bromeliads such as Gravisia
aquilega and Aechmea nudicaulis as places for concealing their
nests. On April 1, 1958, we found a nest in a distinctly more unusual
situation, perched atop the flaring leaves of a medium sized plant of Vriesia
procera. The bird, Leptoptila sp., probably D. v. Verreauxi, the
Mountain Dove, builds a very crude platform of twigs at best, and in this
instance the platform with two nestlings on it was neatly couched in the
bromeliad. The photograph shows the nest without the nestlings.

When our secretary, Miss
Victoria Padilla, visited me in 1956, she saw how I grow my Tillandsias, and in
the May 1957 issue of the Bulletin. she wrote about them in an article entitled
"Tillandsia Mobiles." I would like to add a few remarks to what she
had to say and to clarify them with some pictures.

The best wood for the
creation of a "Tillandsia Mobile" is an old grapevine trunk, although
other bent and twisted limbs and roots can be used effectively. As these wooden
pieces are seldom naturally so formed as to be just what is desired in the way
of shape, I often find it necessary to take two or three pieces of wood and
fasten them together with galvanized wire. Usually I place one piece upright
and the other in a horizontal position. It is often advisable to fasten a
second piece of wood horizontally behind the first one, so that the upright
piece is clamped between the front and the rear pieces. By twisting the wire
into a figure eight, I can join the wood together so that the wire is hardly
noticeable.

I drill a hole at the upper
end of the upright piece, and with the same wire make a hanger by looping the
wire around twice, twisting it tight and bending the ends into a hook. Planting
material can be inserted into any gaps formed by the joining of the pieces of
wood.

To fasten the plants onto the
wood I take an inch-wide strip of nylon hose, which I obtain by cutting the
hose crosswise with scissors. I then wrap these elastic strips around the roots
of the plants, about which has been placed an amount of planting medium (such
as osmunda), and then fasten the bromeliad at a suitable place. Pincers can be
used to great advantage to thread the nylon strips around the cross pieces. The
knots of the nylon strips and the ends of the wire should be as inconspicuous
as possible. Wood does shrink in time and the wires are apt to get lose, but
rather than twisting the wire where it was originally joined as it can easily
break, I shorten the wire at another place by gripping it with pliers and
giving it half a twist.

In this way nearly all
epiphytic bromeliads can be made into mobiles and suspended from the ceiling.
They can be easily taken care of, and besides the usual spraying can be
immersed when necessary in a tub of water. These mobiles can be effectively
used for interior decoration, hanging near or in front of a window. Spraying or
immersing can be done in the bathroom and the mobile left there to drip and
then rehung in the window without soiling the room by the procedure.

I believe that there are
special advantages to this method as compared to that using cork or oak bark.
First, such wood pieces do not obstruct to any extent the light from the window
as would the wider oak bark slab; and secondly, such wood pieces tend to let
the water drain from the plants in a natural way, thus doing away with the
possibility of the roots having damp feet. Also, as the plants grow, the wood
does not get top heavy, tipping toward the front, but the bromeliads can grow
and spread naturally, eventually covering the wood on all sides.

Kirchzarten, bei Freiburg I, Brsg. Hebelstrasse 5 Germany

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Dr. Lyman Smith continues to
publish abundantly on Bromeliaceae and this summer's publications are the
following:

Such a complete work on the
bromeliads of Suriname has never been published before. (Write: Botanical Museum &
Herbarium, 106 Lange Nieuwstraat, Utrecht, Netherlands)

IN PHYTOLOGIA, Vol. 6, No. 5, July 1958 "Notes on Bromeliaceae X" This describes six new
species and one new variety.
(Price: $1, per number  H.
N. Moldenke, 15 Glenbrook Ave., Yonkers, N.Y.)

Reprint from ARQUIVOS DO
JARDIM BOTANICO, Vol. XV "Bromeliaceas Notaveis do Herbario do Jardim Botanico
do Rio de Janeiro"II. It describes two new species and one new
variety. (From Smith at Smithsonian)

From the BOLETIM DO MUSEU
PARAENSE EMILIO GOELDI
No. I, Marco de 1958

"Tres Bromeliaceas Novas
. . ." in which three new species are described. (From Smith at
Smithsonian)